SC refuses to cancel bail to Lok Insaaf Party leader Simarjit Singh Bains in rape case

New Delhi, July 5 The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied to interfere with the bail granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) leader and former Punjab MLA Simarjit Singh Bains in a 2021 rape case.

"The High Court has applied its mind and exercised its discretion. Sorry, we won't interfere with the high court judgement," said a bench of Justices A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh of the top court.

Disposing of the appeal, the court said that the victim can approach the high court for cancellation of the bail granted to the politician, if any of the bail conditions is not complied by him.

The complainant moved the apex court seeking cancellation of bail granted to the former legislator by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in January this year.

On January 25, the high court had granted bail to the LIP leader after imposing various conditions on him.

Before the high court, Bains argued that the FIR was registered against him to ruin his career at the instance of his political opponents and the complainant was playing in their hands.

In July 2021, an FIR was lodged at Ludhiana against Bains and his brothers Karamjit Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma, and others for offences under sections 376 (rape), 354 (outraging modesty of women), 354-A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

In her complaint, the prosecutrix alleged that Bains took advantage of her precarious financial conditions to commit rape upon her at various occasions.